Security Bulletin
Summary
Use of Arrays.equals() in LlapSignerImpl in Apache Hive to compare message signatures allows attacker to forge a valid signature for an arbitrary message byte by byte. The attacker should be an authorized user of the product to perform this attack. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 4.0.0, which fixes this issue. The problem occurs when an application doesn't use a constant-time algorithm for validating a signature. The method Arrays.equals() returns false right away when it sees that one of the input's bytes are different. It means that the comparison time depends on the contents of the arrays. This little thing may allow an attacker to forge a valid signature for an arbitrary message byte by byte. So it might allow malicious users to submit splits/work with selected signatures to LLAP without running as a privileged user, potentially leading to DDoS attack. More details in the reference section. These can affect watsonx.data.
Vulnerability Details
CVEID: CVE-2024-23953
DESCRIPTION: Use of Arrays.equals() in LlapSignerImpl in Apache Hive to compare message signatures allows attacker to forge a valid signature for an arbitrary message byte by byte. The attacker should be an authorized user of the product to perform this attack. Users are recommended to upgrade to version 4.0.0, which fixes this issue.
The problem occurs when an application doesn’t use a constant-time algorithm for validating a signature. The method Arrays.equals() returns false right away when it sees that one of the input’s bytes are different. It means that the comparison time depends on the contents of the arrays. This little thing may allow an attacker to forge a valid signature for an arbitrary message byte by byte. So it might allow malicious users to submit splits/work with selected signatures to LLAP without running as a privileged user, potentially leading to DDoS attack.
More details in the reference section.
CWE: CWE-208: Observable Timing Discrepancy
CVSS Source: CISA ADP
CVSS Base score: 6.5
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N)
Affected Products and Versions
| Affected Product(s) | Version(s) |
| watsonx.data | 2.1.1- 2.2 |
Remediation/Fixes
The product needs to be installed or upgraded to the latest available level watsonx.data 2.2.1 or watsonx.data on CPD 5.2.1. Installation/upgrade instructions can be found here https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/software-hub/5.2.x?topic=watsonxdata-installing.
Workarounds and Mitigations
None
Get Notified about Future Security Bulletins
References
Acknowledgement
Change History
29 Aug 2025: Initial Publication
*The CVSS Environment Score is customer environment specific and will ultimately impact the Overall CVSS Score. Customers can evaluate the impact of this vulnerability in their environments by accessing the links in the Reference section of this Security Bulletin.
Disclaimer
According to the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) is an "industry open standard designed to convey vulnerability severity and help to determine urgency and priority of response." IBM PROVIDES THE CVSS SCORES ""AS IS"" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. CUSTOMERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ANY ACTUAL OR POTENTIAL SECURITY VULNERABILITY. In addition to other efforts to address potential vulnerabilities, IBM periodically updates the record of components contained in our product offerings. As part of that effort, if IBM identifies previously unidentified packages in a product/service inventory, we address relevant vulnerabilities regardless of CVE date. Inclusion of an older CVEID does not demonstrate that the referenced product has been used by IBM since that date, nor that IBM was aware of a vulnerability as of that date. We are making clients aware of relevant vulnerabilities as we become aware of them. "Affected Products and Versions" referenced in IBM Security Bulletins are intended to be only products and versions that are supported by IBM and have not passed their end-of-support or warranty date. Thus, failure to reference unsupported or extended-support products and versions in this Security Bulletin does not constitute a determination by IBM that they are unaffected by the vulnerability. Reference to one or more unsupported versions in this Security Bulletin shall not create an obligation for IBM to provide fixes for any unsupported or extended-support products or versions.
Document Location
Worldwide
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Document Information
Modified date:
29 August 2025
Initial Publish date:
29 August 2025
UID
ibm17243554